Defend the Rutgers 3

Please sign petition:

https://www.petitiononline.com/DefRU3/

To: Rutgers University Administration and the New Brunswick Police Department
Defend the Rutgers 3!

On March 27, hundreds of Rutgers students and supporters participated in the Rutgers Walkout against the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Students walked out of classes, rallied on campus, marched through downtown New Brunswick, and spontaneously walked on to Route 18, a state highway. During the action, the police did not complain to student organizers, issue warnings to the crowd, or attempt to stop any of the actions. The non-violent protest, organized by 12 student organizations, ended without incident.

On April 10th of 2008, Suzan Sanal (Rutgers Against the War/Campus Antiwar Network), Erik Straub (Tent State/SDS), and Arwa Ibrahim received a summons from the state of New Jersey for activities during the Walk Out. These three were the only ones to receive a summons for the protest despite the fact that the Walk Out was organized by a coalition of multiple student groups and gathered several hundred participants. Arwa was not even a member of the Walk Out coalition and never attended an organizers’ meeting.

Walk Out coalition members met and communicated with police, before and during the event, in an effort to be cooperative with police to ensure participants’ safety.

According to the Targum, “(Sgt Richard) Rowe said members of the group advised them of their proposed route shortly before they began, so he said if the protesters went on Route 18 they would accommodate them.”

Police Pleased By Rally’s Nature.

All three are being charged with Disorderly Conduct, a “violation” according to New Jersey state law (equivalent to a “misdemeanor”). If convicted, they could face up to 30 days in jail, a $500 fine, and a record of an “offense” that would take several years to expunge. The complaint states, “Did engage in conduct which caused a physically dangerous or hazardous condition, specifically by organizing and participating in a protest march onto Route 18 disrupting traffic in violation of N.J.S. 2c: 33-2A(2)”

These selective charges are designed to intimidate students and student organizations from organizing such antiwar protests.

We, the undersigned, call for Rutgers University administration to defend and support the three students faced with these unjust charges. We also call for all charges against the Rutgers 3 to be immediately dropped.

Signed by:

Rutgers Walkout Coalition

**Affiliations of signers are noted for identification purposes only**

(university students)

‘Binghamton 9’: Basheer Bergus, David Bittner, Andrew Epstein, Maresi Starzman, Dan Johnson, Joe Golowka, and Tom Pieragastini

Campus Antiwar Network National Coordinating Committee: Ken Love, Jake Allen, Tiffany Cheng, Leia Petty, Amanda Ginsberg, Chris Dols, Katrina Yeaw, David Goodner

Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, (UW Madison), national Coordinating Committee 2005-2006, Campus Antiwar Network

Kati Ketz – Student Commission of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Students for a Democratic Society (March 20 Working Group)

Kosta Harlan, Students for a Democratic Society (March 20 Working Group)

Snehal Shingavi, PhD candidate, English, UC Berkeley

Tariq D. Khan, has written on campus repression after having faced repression while protesting peacefully at George Mason University

‘Tuscaloosa 4’: Cristine Jackson and Alyse Deller, Tuscaloosa SDS, Jeremy Miller, UNC SDS, Jason Hurd IVAW

(veterans, physicians, professors, clergy, teachers, authors, editors, journalists, activists, lawyers, military families, organizations)

Ahmed Shawki, Editor, International Socialist Review, isreview.org

Alan Maass, Editor, Socialist Worker, socialistworker.org

Annie and Buddy Spell, attorneys, Covington, Louisiana

Ann Wright, US Army Reserve Colonel (Retired) and former US diplomat who resigned in opposition to the Iraq war.

Anthony Arnove, author of Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal and editor of Iraq Under Siege and co-editor, with Howard Zinn, of Voices of a People’s History of the United States.

Avery Friend, Louisiana

Barbara Balliet, Associate Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Department at Rutgers University

Barry Crimmins, author/political satirist

Brian Jones, NYC teacher, actor, activist

Bruce Gagnon, Coordinator, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space

Buz Eisenberg, J.D., Criminal Justice Professor at Greenfield Community College; recipient of the President’s Award by the Boston Bar Association (2007) and Distinguished National Service Award by National Legal Aid and Defenders Association.

Camilo Mejia, Iraq war veteran and resister; author – Road From ar Ramadi The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia

Carol Gay, Chairperson, NJ Labor Against the War

Carolyn Fuller, Senior Analyst/ Programmer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War.

Chad Hetman, US Army veteran, Captain

Charles Jenks, J.D., Editor of PeaceJournal.org and SocialismConference.org (Socialism 2008), lawyer, member of International Socialist Organization.

Charlie Jackson, Texans for Peace

Coalition for Peace Action of Princeton (NJ)

Dahlia Wasfi, M.D.

Dahr Jamail, independent journalist, editor of dahrjamailiraq.com

David M. Hughes, Associate Professor of Human Ecology, Rutgers University

David Stratman, Editor, NewDemocracyWorld.org

David Swanson, creator of ImpeachCheney.org, Washington Director of Democrats.com, co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org coalition

Dirk Adriaensens, coordinator of SOS Iraq and member of the Executive committee of the Brussells Tribunal

Dorinda Moreno, FuerzaMundial/We Are The Ones; Hitec Aztec Communications/Elders of 4 Colors 4 Directions

Doug Rokke, Ph.D., Major USAR (ret.)

Enoch H. Page, Ph.D., associate professor of anthropology, University of Massachusetts; anti-racist activist and local youth organizing consultant

Eric Ruder, Socialist Worker newspaper

Felice & Jack Cohen-Joppa, Editors, the Nuclear Resister newsletter

Frank Serpico, former New York City police detective

George A. Polisner, Participatory Progress Institute

Howard Zinn, historian, writer

Jacob Flowers, Director, Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, Memphis

Janet Gerson, peace education

Jeffrey St. Clair, Co-Editor of Counterpunch, author of Been Brown So Long it Looks Green to Me

Jim Barlow, member, Veterans for Peace, New York

Jimmy Massey, SSGT, USMC, RET

Joel Geier, Associate Editor, International Socialist Review

John M. LaForge, co-director of Nukewatch, www.nukewatch.org

Joshua Frank, journalist and co-editor with Jeffrey St. Clair of the forthcoming Red State Rebels: Tales of Grassroots Resistance in the Heartland

Karen Parker, J.D., President, Association of Humanitarian Lawyers

Kathy Kelly, Co-coordinator, Voices for Creative Nonviolence

Ken McNamara, Rutgers alumnus & Communications Workers of America, Local 1037 Representative

Kevin Hussey, National Steering Committee, Labor Against the War

Kevin Zeese, Executive Director, Voters for Peace

Larry Hamm, Chair, People’s Organization for Progress

Larry Romsted, Chemistry Professor, Rutgers University

Liam Madden, Iraq War veteran, Board of Directors of Iraq Veterans Against the War

Lou Plummer, Military Families Speak Out

Louis Proyect, Editor, The Unrepentant Marxist, louisproyect.wordpress.com

Marc Herold, Professor of Economic Development, University of New Hampshire

Marion Küpker, International coordinator against nuclear- and uranium weapons of GAAA (gass.org) and DFG-VK, Germany

Mary Hartman – Director of the Institute for Women’s Leadership at Rutgers University

Medea Benjamin, Cofounder, CODEPINK and Global Exchange

Meredyth Friend, New Orleans

Rabbi Michael Lerner, Chair, The Network of Spiritual Progressives (spiritualprogressives.org) and Editor, Tikkun Magazine, tikkun.org

Michael Letwin, Co-Convener, New York City Labor Against the War;
Former President, Assn. of Legal aid Attorneys/UAW Local 2325

Michael T. McPhearson, Veterans For Peace National Executive Director

Military Families Speak Out, Essex County Chapter

National Organization for Women of NJ (NOW-NJ)

Natylie Baldwin, Mt. Diablo Peace & Justice Center

New Jersey Peace Action

New Jersey Peace Council

Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor (retired), MIT

Paola Pisi, Professor of Religious Studies (Italy) and Editor of uruknet.info

Phil Gasper, Professor of Philosophy, Notre Dame de Namur University

Rafay Siddiqui, President of the NJ chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War

Randy Kehler, co-founder and former national coordinator, Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign

Rania Masri, Assistant Professor, University of Balamand, Lebanon Richard Moser, Author of The New Winter Soldiers: GI and Veteran Dissent During the Vietnam Era. Staff Representative Rutgers AAUP-AFT

S. Brian Willson

Sara Flounders, International Action Center

Scott Ritter

Sharon Smith, author of Subterranean Fire: A History of Working-Class Radicalism in the United States and Women and Socialism; Columnist, Socialist Worker

Sheila Rosenthal and Indiana Peace & Justice Network

Sherry Wolf, International Socialist Review

Sigrid Schmalzer, Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts/Amherst; member, Northampton Committee to Stop the War

Stan Goff

Stephen Eric Bronner, Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University; Senior Editor of Logos; author of Imagining the Possible: Radical Politics for Conservative Times and Reclaiming the Enlightenment: Toward a Politics of Radical Engagement

Sue Niederer, mother of Lt. Seth Dvorin KIA 2-3-04 and proud supporter of the Rutgers Antiwar events

Sunny Miller, artist and human rights activist

Susan Lees, member of the Greater Boston United for Justice with Peace Coalition

Teresa Vivar, President of Lazos America Unida

Thomas Fasy, M.D., New York City

Todd Chretien, Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate in 2006 (California) and member of International Socialist Organization.

Tom Knoche, Healthcare-NOW

Veterans for Peace 21, N.J

Vickie White, Chair, Central Jersey Chapter of People’s Organization for Progress

Vietnam Veterans Against the War- North Jersey

Ward Reilly, Advisory Board member, “Iraq Veterans Against the War”, VVAW, VFP & veteran activist

William Kramer, Visiting Social Scientist, Rutgers University

William Quigley, Professor of Law, Loyola University New Orleans
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